What is the Cost to Microchip a Horse?

How much does it cost to microchip a horse? Veterinarians can charge almost $30 to $70 for microchipping your horse. The charge includes both, the retail price of the microchip itself, and the installation fee. Like microchipping any animal, horses too are microchipped for safety and welfare concerns. Of course, you do not have to worry about any additional future charges regarding microchipping your steed as they are only a one-time expense.

Why You Need to Microchip Your Horse?

The basic purpose of getting any animal microchipped is for its well-being and tracking. Like we all humans have an ID or a passport, which determines our identity and origin, in the exact same way horses too, require an ID which is in the form of a microchip. This contains all the information about the horse, its breed type, studbook designation (if any), place of origin, health status (in case the horse suffers from any condition), and lastly but importantly, a tracking instrument embedded within the chip. The benefit of tracking your horse through a microchip holds prime importance; in case of a mishap or a misadventure whereby your horse runs away or in a calamitous condition is forced to flee, or gets targeted of theft, you may be able to track it down and recover it.

Total Expense of Microchipping Your Horse

As mentioned, the total costs of installing a microchip into your horse average range between $30 and $70. The charges are composite, so let’s break them down a little;

Visiting Fee of the Vet

Although routine medical checkup visits for animals can cost a lot depending on your pet, the horses cost around $50 and maximum up to $250 or more. However, since the predefined purpose of visiting the vet is to microchip your horse which, therefore, may cost less; around $20 to $40.

Best Horse Microchip Brands

The importance of what type of microchip you use for the horse cannot be neglected and has to be specially emphasized.

The most popular microchip on the market is Universal Standard ISO Transponder RFID which is 125 kHz and can be read by most scanners.

Another microchip brand is the Manruta Standard Animal ID microchip that shares a lot of customers’ attention due to its small size and easy installation. The microchip uses 134.2 kHz of frequency range and has a bandwidth advantage over the former microchip brand.

Retail Price of the Microchips

The average market cost to have a microchip implanted is around $45, which is a one–time fee and often includes registration in database charges as well. Some major microchip brands are;

  • The Friendship Microchip
  • AKC CAR Microchip
  • ResQ Microchip
  • Schering-Plough Microchip by Homeagain

Implanting the Chip Into the Horse

Inserting the whole chip into the implantation site of the horse is the whole deal of microchipping an animal. This is what the Vet charges for and is supposed to be done with precision. To ensure proper insertion and painless implantation, make sure you get your horse microchipped by a certified Vet instead of doing that yourself.

Installation Equipment Such as the Needling Apparatus

Miscellaneous charges such as needling and catheter apparatus are final expenses that are included within the grand total of microchipping a horse. The value rounds off to $5 and $10.

Factors Affecting Cost of Microchipping a Horse

As we have mentioned, the cost to microchip a horse and what is included within it, we now discuss the factors that play a key role in determining the expenses of microchipping a horse.

Bear in mind again, that this is a once-in-a-lifetime sort of expense that does not need maintaining or replacement.

The Horse

Your horse, depending on breed and designation, if it holds a prime status, would invariably mean it requires a microchip on a high priority basis. Highly significant are the exhibition horses such as racehorses, horses used for dressage, and therapy horses. All of these require first preference-based microchipping because they are either too expensive or are frequently transported from one place to another.

The Horses

If you shelter a stable of multiple horses in a yard, you ought to get each and every one of them microchipped. The reason behind this is twofold; every horse can be identified distinctly from the other one and in case one has a health condition, it can be treated separately, keeping track of its prognosis at the same time. The second reason is that in case of a calamitous or disastrous condition, horses among the other animals tend to run away. You can simply track your escaped horses once the disaster subsides.

The Expensive Vet

If you’re all conscious about the ‘well-being’ of your noble horse and don’t care about the dimes spent on them, you might as well book an expensive veterinarian. Although he or she may also just have to microchip the horse, he or she may be experienced enough to know how to, where, and when to exactly punch a hole in your horse.

The ‘Chip’

To be fairly honest, like you may choose a saddle for your horse or its shoes, you may well be picky about the manufacturer of the microchip that is to be implanted into your horse. Several, in fact, many brands of microchips are available on the market (the Government too, wants you to find them easily). The more expensive microchips often come with scanners that can display the specifications and health status of the horse all in one screen.

Be your Own Guest

If you think you’ve got what it takes to punch a hole into your noble steed and get that microchip implanted into the tissues of the horse, you might certainly do it yourself. This will save your veterinarian’s fee and drop down your overall cost to just buying the microchip itself. Almost as much as up to $20 and $50.

Microchipping: Risk Factors

Most people are not a fan of getting their horses or any of their pets microchipped due to concerns regarding safety, privacy, and health. However, it must be acknowledged that microchipping your horse is actually a protective measure and saves you the trouble of mishaps where your horse is lost or is in a debilitating condition. As regards the privacy about whether ‘others’ may be able to track your horse and steal it or cause damage, is a misconception. Nobody except yourself can track your animal and it is an offense in case someone else tries to track it down.

As far as health issues are concerned; getting your horse microchipped or the process itself does not and will not cause any health issues to your horse. Just because the punching or implantation ‘seem’ painful, doesn’t mean it necessarily has to be painful, the horse hardly flinches. On the contrary, in fact, you are able to track the health status of the horse as it does display on the scanner when or if the horse has been somehow injured or has been inflicted with any sort of malady.

How to Microchip Your Horse?

A lot of tutorials on the procedure to microchip a horse, are available on the internet. But let us briefly list out the procedure for reference, just so you know exactly what you’re paying for.

Vets tend to shave the site of injection and sedate it while others may not, depending on certain requirements. However, the first and foremost invariable step is cleaning the site of injection. Thereafter, a grain-sized microchip of 125 kHz frequency is injected through a syringe with a liquid solution. The microchip is literally infused into the subcutaneous tissue of the horse’s body where it peacefully stays, lasting forever (may even outlive the horse itself). The most common implantation site is the ligament on the medial aspect along the midline of the horse’s neck, on the left side.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Cost to Microchip a Horse

Let us take a quick look at some of the frequently asked questions regarding the cost to microchip a horse.

How much do vets charge for microchipping a horse?

The average cost of getting your horse microchipped by a registered practicing vet can be around $20 to $40 which may vary on your location. This is exclusive of the cost of the microchip itself, which if included, raises the total expense to $70. Certain states require you to register microchipping to the provider or online. The veterinarian’s charges include his consultancy fee, traveling expenses, and the retail price of the microchip itself, in case he or she is handling the entire procedure.

Should I microchip my horse?

Although it may seem unnecessary, microchipping your horse can save it from theft, escape or recover it from an unforeseen mishap. The procedure is entirely minimally invasive, quick, and painless. Your horse can be recognized by a scanner that scans the ID on the microchip placed beneath the tissue of the horse. Additionally, the details that a microchip can display include the horse’s health status, location, place of origin, breed, and studbook designation (if any). If you’re a professional equine enthusiast and possess horse assets worth thousands or millions of dollars, you ought to get them all microchipped to save you the trouble of any misadventure.

Can I microchip my horse myself?

You can surely microchip a horse yourself as it requires little precision and accuracy. However, you should know the basics of how-to. If you think you’ve got what it takes to punch a hole into your noble steed and get that microchip implanted into the tissues of the horse, you might certainly do it yourself. This will save your veterinarian’s fee and drop down your overall cost to just buying the microchip itself. Almost as much as up to $25-$45

Is there a yearly fee for microchips?

There are absolutely no miscellaneous or additional charges related to microchips. There are no yearly expenses and therefore maintenance of microchips is entirely excluded. However, the total package of $30-$70 includes registration charges as well but they too are only one-time.

What does microchipping a horse actually do?

The microchip holds digitally encrypted data within the chip itself that contains the biodata of the horse, its owner’s information, the health status of the horse, its place of origin, and breed. Microchipping your horse also means you can track it anywhere while you’re away or if the horse is away. You do not want to witness your horse escaping your barn and fleeing to an unknown location. Should your horse leave you, microchips would surely come to the rescue.

How and where do you implant a microchip in a horse?

You may find tutorials on the web regarding how to microchip your horse. All of them invariably demonstrate the process in POV of the Vet as;
Vets tend to shave the site of injection and sedate it while others may not, depending on certain requirements. However, the first and foremost invariable step is cleaning the site of injection. This is followed by injecting a syringe with a liquid solution containing a grain-sized microchip of 125 kHz or 134.2 kHz frequency. The microchip is infused into the left side of the middle part of the nuchal ligament of the neck where it peacefully stays lasting forever (may even outlive the horse itself). The most common implantation site is on the medial aspect along the midline of the horse’s neck, on the left side.

Bottomline

Thus far in summary we can handsomely say that microchipping your horse is safe, inexpensive, quick, and protective. Microchipping is important if you want to have your horse in good hands and save yourself from witnessing the trouble of your horse’s runaway. Veterinarians charge as much as $30 to $70 to microchip a horse which includes his fee, the retail price of the microchip, and the registration fee.